jay_dub
02-08-2013, 07:43 PM
Under ObamaCare, insurers will be able to charge a penalty of up to 50% on insurance for older smokers. This, in the name of affordable health care, will put insurance beyond the reach of many.
The obese, alcoholics, diabetics, those that engage in dangerous jobs or hobbies have not been singled out.....yet. So far, it's just the smokers; a group that government, after having taxed them to no end, has found a new hammer to use on.
I see this as the first demonstration of the far-reaching hand afforded government by allowing it to be in charge of health care. The irony of pricing people out of insurance under the Affordable Care Act is laughable. It's also a great way to boost profits for the insurance industry.
Once the precedent is established of government regulating behavior through punitive actions for a product we are required to have, there will be an ever-growing list of people whose behavior is deemed to be too costly and thus worthy of penalty. The mask will then be ripped off and we can see this act for what it is.....a device to control every aspect of our lives.
I see no actuarial evidence that such a penalty is justified. If so, insurance companies would already be charging a stiff premium for smokers, but that is not the case. Insurance companies will be the beneficiaries of these penalties, so I'm sure they're not complaining about the windfall headed their way.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/14327-under-obamacare-it%E2%80%99s-quit-smoking-or-pay-the-price-%E2%80%94-literally
The obese, alcoholics, diabetics, those that engage in dangerous jobs or hobbies have not been singled out.....yet. So far, it's just the smokers; a group that government, after having taxed them to no end, has found a new hammer to use on.
I see this as the first demonstration of the far-reaching hand afforded government by allowing it to be in charge of health care. The irony of pricing people out of insurance under the Affordable Care Act is laughable. It's also a great way to boost profits for the insurance industry.
Once the precedent is established of government regulating behavior through punitive actions for a product we are required to have, there will be an ever-growing list of people whose behavior is deemed to be too costly and thus worthy of penalty. The mask will then be ripped off and we can see this act for what it is.....a device to control every aspect of our lives.
I see no actuarial evidence that such a penalty is justified. If so, insurance companies would already be charging a stiff premium for smokers, but that is not the case. Insurance companies will be the beneficiaries of these penalties, so I'm sure they're not complaining about the windfall headed their way.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/14327-under-obamacare-it%E2%80%99s-quit-smoking-or-pay-the-price-%E2%80%94-literally